Measuring tape



A. W. KEUFFEL ET AL MEASURING TAPE Filed Oct. 6/1939 FIGJ.

lhil CC CC PL CP LC PC LP CL PC LP LC LP PC CL LP PC L CP PL CC CCINVEN? OHS ADOLF n4 AEf/FFEL 00mm 5 memoc/r from woven'strips of narrowfabric. and numerals thereon.

Heretofore woven measuring tapes have been "Additional objects will behereinafter set forth made in a number of ways as for example, by ormade clear from the following more particuweaving. an ordinary narrowstrip as a more or lar description of the invention. less conventionaltape and printing graduations We have found-that where at least part ofand numerals thereon. Obviously such tapes the warp threads of a stripare made from fibres were useful only to give approximate measure of aninorganic material such as glass that ments and could never be usedwhere accuracy an'improved product results. In one of the prewasnecessary. To improve the accuracy of ferred forms of the invention atleast some of these tapes, metallic strands have been introthe warpthreads are made from continuous glass duced in certain types. Theinclusion of vrnefilaments suitably combined to form threads tallicstrands produced a conductive tape that which have only a slight twist;Inorganic fibres made it dangerous for measurements around havebeenmade' into threads of two principal electrical apparatus. types. Inone case extremely fine filaments 'of, This invention is directedparticularly to for example, glass are drawn to any desired wovenmeasuring tapes with increased durabillength and a number of thesecontinuous'filaity able to withstand the severe conditions in meritscombined to form a strand or ply of yarn mining, lumbering, dockbuilding, railroad conand several; of these may be twisted'together tostruction, carpet laying and other industrial opgive a thread. Suchthreads, in which each erations where a high degree of accuracy isfilament is extremely long and may be as long desired but notnecessarily that of a steel tape, as the thread, are very smooth; freefrom proor where metal tapes cannot be used. jecting fibres andgenerally preferred as warp It is an object of this inventionto providethreads. The second type of thread is spun an improved woven measuringtape that has a from glass fibres which individually-are only a smallerelongation or strain for a given stress fewinches long. Spun glassthread is fuzzy applied than other woven tapes thereby insurand producesa correspondingly fuzzy fabric ing greater accuracy in use. which wouldrequire special care in singeing Another object of this invention is toprovide and coating. Such threads ofinorganic fibres an improved wovenmeasuring tape of great either alone or preferably combined withthreadsstrength and highly resistant to wear under norof organic fibreswhen employed asa straight mal conditions of use. v warp held togetherwith a light weight loosely. An important object of this inventionresides woven filler produce strips having unusually dein the provisionof a measuring tape which sirable properties for measuring tapes. canstand extended exposure to aqueous liquids In the accompanying drawingFig. 1 is a view. without changing its properties and when so of ameasuring tape, Fig. 2 a plan. view of the treated that any of itsmeasuring properties are woven strip, and Fig. 3 a sectional view ofFig. 2

affected the variation isonly'temporary, or at all with explanatorylegends. the most of a minor nature. While the invention is illustratedand described Also an object of this invention is to provide 4;; byreference to certain preferred embodiments, a woven strip having warpthreads of two types, it is to be understood that variations may be thefibres of one of which areinorganic filamade from the specificdisclosures hereinwithments, which warp threads are substantially outdeparting from the spirit and scope of the straight and held togetherwith a weft or filler invention as set forth in the broader outlineswhich weaves the warp threads together withof this disclosure. outcausing them to vary from a straightlin'e. Example I The invention seeksto provide a-woven strip on a tape 100m capable of weaving a largewperem threads; of orgfmlc fibre are l number of such tapessimultaneously, the fortywlth threads of Inorganic fibre to produce Sumtwo warp threads, of which there were thirty of edge of cotton, some ofthe intermediatapairs Patented June 15, 1943 I UNITED STATES "rATENTorricr.

MEASURING TAPE Adolf W. Keufiel, Montclair, and Donald E. Whitlock,Orange, N. J assignors to Keuffel & Esser Company, Hoboken, N. J., acorporation of New Jersey I Application Qctober 6, 1939, Serial No.298,338

8 Claims. (01. 33-137) This invention relates to measuring tapes madewarp, a coating for the strip, and graduations with novel propertiesparticularly usefulin view cotton (C) and twelve of filamentglassxwx enmeasurmg a Y were arranged as twenty-one double ends in the A furtherobJect is to providev a woven measfollowing order.

uring tape with high resistance to stretch or. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 nelongation and high resistance to wate'rflcomprising a woven strip inwhich the warp ends "C are woven in pairs the first two pairs at eachcombining a filament glass thread with anor-. 'QC ganic fibre thread andheld together with a spe The threads were run through the harness incially woven weft or filler to provide a'str pairs as indicated. Thestrip-is. sl ghtly more (C), linen (L), the following manner:

with the threads arranged through the harness as in Example I.

Example II 5 Another tape loom was threaded with cotton and glass fibrethreads (P) in In each of the foregoing examples, the tape was wovenwith a cotton weft, the filling passing over and under the straight thatthe tension on the various warp threads be so adjusted that after thestrip is woven the various types of thread in the warp will be verynearly, if not exactly, the same length. This is shown where the filleris stripped from several inches on any section moderate tension appliedfrom each end of the stripped section. the warp threads will originaltensions on the warp threads during weaving were correct.

warp. It is important .2

of woven tape and a to the tape a few inches It is also necessary toadjust the tension on the filler or weft threads against the tension onthe warp. In this manner the woven tape becomes a series ofsubstantially straight warp threads with all of the weaving, i. such, inthe filler. With this applied at the ends of the stretching due totaking the waves out of the warp threads.

e., sinuous form, as construction, tension strip will not permit in Inone of the foregoing examples, there were only five threads of inorganicfibre out of a total of forty two ends yet tapes so prepared whenfinished as marked improvement in many important respects over tapesconstructed otherwise identical.

hereinafter described produced solely of organic fibres but In additionto the warp arrangements suggested in Examples I and II above, a numberof other possible combinations illustrative of the invention aresuggested in; as follows:

0 o oo-oo-i o-oPooPooPooPo-or In the construction of tapes according tothe achings of this invention, the warp threads are 70 kind of threads.76

closely woven near the edges for additional strength which may befurther increased by using a longer fibre cotton thread for the edgethreads.

: In the weaving of the tapes it should be borne in mind that long fibrecotton threads are pre- 'ferred for the edges. One reason is thatsubsequent finishing treatments tend to draw the filler threads into theedge threads which could be done only when the edge threads are of asoft cotton. Such thread is stronger than short fibre. A 24/2 ply longfibre cotton thread of 2%; pound test which in four feet elongates 1%inches when aone pound weight is applied is very good as an edge thread.

The tension applied to the warp threads during the weaving operationshould be such that the filament glass threads are under the greateststress because they are most important in conro'lling masuringproperties of the tape. Glass filament thread (900/4/4)- testing aboutsix pounds per thread and which lengthened oneeighth inch in four feetwhen stretched with a one pound weight is very satisfactory in the Warp.While tapes can be made with all of the warp threads of glass filamentthread we prefer to use cotton edge threads and also to mix inorganicfibre threads throughout the strip. The organic fibre threads keep thefilling from sliding along the warp and are more receptive to theimpregnating coating and printing during the finishing steps. The cottonthreads other than the edge threads may have a shorter fibre such asll'l' 8. 24/2 ply combed peeler with a breaking test of.-one andone-half pounds. Such a thread will elongate 2 inches in four feet whena one pound weight is applied. This relatively great elongation requirescareful adjustment on the tension of such warp threads because if thetension is too high during weaving the tape will be bumpy and wavy andif the tension is too loosse the warp will not be straight. In thepreferred constructions a filament glass thread and a cotton orja linenthread are paired, the two ends acting as one warp end, and woventogether as such. Itwill be understood that the glass filament thread isnot affected by wetting. Cotton thread is the most elastic and in tapefabrics is most easily stretched again after Wetting and drying. Linenthread, on the other hand, while stronger (5;; test) and stretching less(1# elongates a four foot thread one-half inch) is subject to shrinkagewhen wet and is harder to stretch when dried.

After the tape has been woven as a ribbon, a number of steps arenecessary to convert it into a measuring tape. The first step is toexpose the ribbon to a direct flame for singeing the free fibers on thesurface whereupon the strip may .bepassed through a sizing bathcontaining starch preferably with a small amount of wax after which thetape is dried. The dry tape is now calendered which includes passing thetape through heated rolls one of which may or may not be travelling at agreater or less speed than the tape which is, in effect, an ironingoperation. This tends to reduce the thickness of the strip by flatteningthe threads both of the warp and the filler which latter is alsoslightlytightened. From the calenderthe strip is preferably passed intoan impregnating solution which may be primarily an oxidizing oil such asChina-wood oil with a drier. When the strip has been thoroughlyimpregnated with an oil, it is permitted to dry with it can becalendered again.

The impregnated calendered tape is now coated with a paint containing apigment, a drying oil and a thinner. A typical paint may be made fromone hundred pounds of white lead base, two

gallons of linseed oil and two gallons of turpentine. When the paint hasbeen dried, the tape is calendered and given a second coat. When thiscoat is dry the strip is again calendered and exposed to the atmospherepreferably for several days to insure thorough drying. The strip is thenprinted with numerals and indicia which are preferably protected by theapplication of a top coat of relatively non-yellowing drying varnish andagain dried to produce the finished measuring tape which may then be putin suitable cases or on reels for commercial use.

The method for making a measuring tape from the woven strip has been setforth in great detail to illustrate the preferred steps. These stepsaccomplish two principal purposes. The first, involving impregnatingwith or without a separate coating, sets the fibres and gives thethreads protective coatings. Thus the strip becomes relativelyunaffected by water and the like and is provided with a surfacereceptive to the indicia and numerals. The application of the indiciaserves the second purpose of making the prepared strip useful formeasuring. While the indicia might be applied to the raw strip it isadvantageous to give the strip preliminary treatment.

It will be evident that the number of warp threads may be varied andeach may be woven singly instead of in pairs. Similarly organic andinorganic fibres may be combined in a single thread. Other variationswill also suggest themselves.

One comparative test which illustrates the superiority of the tapesconstructed as herein described. including inorganic fibre threadsinvolves putting a fifty foot tape under the stress of a three poundpull applied at the end of the horizontal supported strip. The fiftyfoot mark now becomes the point of reference. The pull is then increasedto five pounds and the tape permitted to stretch until it is at restwhich occurs in a relatively short time. The increase in length is thennoted and the pull increased to seven pounds and the maximum elongationnoted. Thereafter, the seven pound pull is reduced to three pounds andthe tape will shorten but not to the same extent that it was elongated,and so the length when the weight is reduced to three pounds is alwaysgreater than the original length for a three pound weight. Thereafter,all weight is removed and the tape is permitted to stand without anystress applied to it over night and the same procedure as just describedis repeated. It will uniformly be found that the tape has recovered to acertain extent and that the subsequent application of three pounds isnearer to the original fifty foot reference mark than was the pointnoted when the weight was reduced to three pounds in the previous test,but the tape probably will not have recovered so that it is identicalwith the original measurement of fifty feet. The same operations arerepeated daily and the tape permitted to recover over night.

The foregoing tests were made on two commercial woven tapes constructedsolely of organic fibre. The maximum elongation in tests repeated dayafter day gradually and uniformly increased from almost one inchelongation or strain with seven pound stress the first day to one andonehalf inches on the fifth day. In each case the residual elongationwhen the weight was reduced to. three pounds gradually increased but therecovery over night brought the tapes back to substantially the samelength of about one-fifth of an inch over fifty feet.

Two tapes including filament inorganic fibre threads were also subjectedto the same tests. One of these tapes contained thirty warp threads ofcotton and twelve of filament glass fibre more or less uniformlydistributed across the tape as in Example I. The other tape had nineteencotton threads, eighteen linen threads and five filament glass fibrethreads substantially as in Example II. Both tapes were woven in themanner described above. Since the results obtained were substantiallyidentical the results of the tests as app to only one of these need begiven. With the application of a three pound tension on the tape themeasurement of fifty feet was the reference point. Increasing the weightfrom three pounds to five pounds and from five pounds to seven pounds asabove described produced an elongation of the tape of four-tenths of aninch. When the weight was reduced to three pounds, the tape promptlyreturned to within one-tenth of an inch of the fifty foot reference marOver night there was a slight recovery so that the initial length of thetape when the three pound weight was again applied was just barely overthe fifty foot length. Upon repeating this operation for five successivedays, the increase in elongation when the seven pound weight was appliedover the first days maximum was one-tenth of an inch.

At the end of the fifth day, the commercial organic fibre tapes and thetapes manufactured as herein described were given an eight hour waterimmersion which Was considered as not sufficient to thoroughly penetratethrough the coating on the tape and the tests were then repeated. One ofthe commercial tapes when the three pound weight was first applied andwhile the ta e was still wet showed an increase in length of fourtenthsof an inch. The other commercial tape was shrunk so that when the threepound weight was applied the tape was four-tenths of an inch short. Bothtapes containing the glass filament threads were less than one-fifth ofan inch short. When the weight was increased on the organic fibre tapesto seven pounds both of these tapes were stretched until they were twoand two-tenths inches longer than fifty feet. Both of the tapes whichincluded the filament glass threads increased their length less thanone-half inch beyond the reference point.

Repeating the increase in weights without any further immersion for sixmore of seven tests, the organic fibre tapes recovered to the pointwhere their maximum daily elongation was to one and six-tenths inchesand their maximum recovery over night restored them to fifty feet andsix-tenths inches. At the same time the tapes containing the filamentglass threads never elongated more than six-tenths of an inch andrecovered to either exactly fifty feet or less than one-tenth of an inchover the fifty feet. At the end of this period the several tapes weregiven a twenty-four hour immersion in water and while still wet thethree pound weight was applied to each of the tapes. Both commercial allorganic fibre tapes were one and twotenths inches short. The tapecontaining the linen and the filament glass thread was ninetenths of aninch short while the cotton and filament glass thread tape wastwo-tenths of an inch short. Upon increasing the tension to sevenpounds, both of the all organic fibre tapes stretched until one was twoand one-half inches too long and the other was one and seven-tenthsinches too long. Both of the filament glass fibre tapes elongated onlythree-tenths of an inch over days for a total the fifty foot mark. Aftera repetition of the test, the maximum elongation was limited tofourtenths of an inch and the recovery Was to the exact fifty foot markwhile with the commercial tapes the mam'mum elongation in one case wasjust short of an inch and in the other case was about an inch and a halfwithreco-veries to onehalf inch too long and one-half inch too short.

The foregoing tests show that a woven tape varies considerably in lengthdepending upon the tension or force exerted on the tape when themeasurement is made and that if a tape is wet and put under tension itelongates all out of pro portion to the stress applied. Similarly, ifthe tape is wet too much it may permanently shrink. On the other hand,tapes constructed according to the teachings of this invention having asfew as five filament glass fibre threads out of fortytWo warp threadsvary only slightly upon increasing tension and uniformly recover.Furthermore, the soaking or immersion in Water has little permanenteffect on the accuracy of the measurements thereafter made with thetape.

The weft thread or filling has been referred to as loosely woven. arelative definition comparing it to the warp. Actually the filling willnot freely slide on the warp threads, is closely woven along the lengthand only sufiiciently loose across the width to permit the ellipticalflattening deformation of the straight warp threads during calenderingwithout breaking the filling, which, loose as it is, embeds itself inthe edge cotton threads. The calendering steps improve the appearanceand reduce the thickness of the tape so it can be accommodated in asmall case.

Although the invention has been described with reference to certainpreferred embodiments and by specific examples, these are to beconsidered as illustrative of the invention and not in limitationthereof.

What is claimed is:

1. A woven measuring tape comprising organic edge warp threads, certainof the intermediate warp threads being organic fibre threads, other ofthe intermediate Warp threads being glass fibre threads, all warpthreads being substantially straight, a filler of sinuous path whichretains the warp substantially straight, a coating on the tape andgraduations and numerals depicted on the tape.

2. A woven measuring tape having a high resistance to elongation and ahigh resistance to water comprising a woven strip wherein the warpthreads are straight and lie in pairs, the two pairs at each edge beingof cotton, certain of the intermediate pairs being of both filamentglass thread and organic fibre thread, a filler retaining the respectivepairs of threads, a coating on the strip,

This should be understood as and graduations and numerals depicted onthe coating.

3. A woven measuring tape comprising a woven strip in which the warpthreads are straight and lie in pairs, some of the pairs being afilament glass thread and an organic fibre thread, a filler of sinuouspath retaining the warp relatively straight, a coating filling theinterstices between the threads and forming a surface on the strip, andgraduations and numerals depicted thereon.

4. A Woven measuring tape having high resistance to elongationcomprising a woven strip wherein the warp threads are straight and liein pairs, one thread of each of predetermined pairs being of filamentglass and the other thread of said pair being of organic fibre and afiller of organic fibre thread retained relative to the warp by theengagement of organic fibres of warp threads with fibres of the filler.

5. A woven measuring tape having a high resistance to elongation and ahigh resistance to water comprising a woven strip wherein the warpthreads are straight, the edge warp threads being of organic fibre,certain of the intermediate warp threads being of filament glass andothers of organic fibre, a filler retaining the respective warp threads,a coating on the strip, and graduations and numerals depicted on thecoating.

6. A woven measuring tape comprising a Woven strip in which the Warpthreads are straight, some of the warp threads being of filament glass,others of the warp threads being of organic fibre, a filler of sinuouspath retaining the warp relatively straight, a coating filling theinterstices between the threads and forming a surface on the strip, andgraduations and numerals depicted thereon.

7. A Woven measuring tape comprising a woven strip in which the warpthreads are straight, the straight warp threads being of filament glassand organic fibre, a filler of sinuous path retaining the warprelatively straight and retained relative to the warp by the engagementof organic fibres of the warp threads with the fibres of the filler, acoating filling the interstices between the threads and forming asurface on the strip, and graduations and numerals depicted thereon.

8. A woven measuring tape having high resistance to elongationcomprising a woven strip wherein the warp threads are straight, certainof the warp threads being of filament glass and other of the Warpthreads being of organic fibre, a filler of organic fibre threadretained relative to the warp by the engagement of organic fibres ofWarp threads With fibres of the filler and graduated indicia thereon.

ADOLF W. KEUFFEL. DONALD E. WHITLOCK.

